Volume 4 Issue 2 January 19, 2008

5^th Annual Fond du Lac Reads 2009

Living a Country Year by Jerry Apps

Fond du Lac Reads is a series of programs designed to get as many people as possible in the community to read the same book at the same time.  It is held annually in March.

 

It is the goal of the Fond du Lac Public Library to foster community by providing a forum for public discussion and interaction—and most of all—demonstrate that reading can be fun!

 

The 2009 Fond du Lac Reads selection is Living a Country Year: Wit and Wisdom from the Good Old Days by Wisconsin author Jerry Apps.  In this warm-hearted memoir, Apps tells of growing up on a farm near Wild Rose in the 1940’s.  The chapters are arranged from January to December and talk about love and respect for the land and for a vanishing rural way of life by using personal incidents, adventures, recipes, observations, and thoughts for each month.  Come and join us in reading this delightful book!

 

Copies of the FDL Reads book are now available at the FDL Public Library, on the bookmobiles, and through your local public library.  For more information call (920) 929-7080; or visit the library’s website at: www.FDLPL.org

 

Schedule of Events

 

Reinventing Rural    March 1-April 24   Langdon Divers Community Gallery, FDLPL

 

Fourteen local artists will interpret how they envision rural.  Expect to see more than barns and cows; or you may see barns and cows represented in a new and exciting way, and in a wide range of mediums and styles. 

 

Participating artists:  Nancy Beresford, Nancy Donohue, Colleen Chertos, Deb Hellwig, Susan Fiebig, Leah Klapperich, Nicci Martin, Mary Millin, Pat Reiher, Paula Sergi, Alice Tzakais, Mary Wehner, Steve Wirtz, and Wanda Yuhas.

 

A public art reception to meet the artists will be held in the gallery on Thursday, March 12 from 5:00 – 7:30 pm.  Refreshments will be served.

 

Book Discussion & Dessert: Living a Country Year     Monday, March 2, 6:00 PM, McLane Meeting Room, FDLPL

 

Join FDLPL librarian, Susan Ringer, for an informal discussion of Living a Country Year.

Bring your copy of the book.  Free.  No registration.  Desserts will be served using some of the recipes from the book.

 

Nature Journaling    Wednesday, March 4, 6:00 PM, McLane Meeting Room, FDLPL

 

Creating a Nature Journal is an exciting way to record changes in the world around you.  It’s inexpensive and can be both educational and recreational.  Alayne Peterson, Assistant Professor of English, UW- FDL, will give you tips on how to get started at this informative workshop.  Free.  No registration.

 

Grow Your Own Groceries   Thursday, March 5, 6:00 PM, McLane Meeting Room, FDLPL

 

With the downturn in the economy and the emphasis on healthy eating, growing your own veggies can save you money and provide you with a rewarding hobby.  Join Nicole Schauer from Good Earth Farm for some great gardening tips.  Good Earth Farm is a sustainable and environmentally responsible farm located in Oakfield that uses natural methods to grow a large variety of vegetables, fruits and herbs, many of them heirloom varieties.  Free.  No registration.

 

Art on a Shoestring: Crafts from Recyclables for Kids   Saturday, March 7, 1:00 – 2:00 PM

 McLane Meeting Room, FDLPL

 

Children ages 8 – 11 are invited to get creative and create crafts from recyclable materials.  Kids will make a bottle cap locket or pin, and more.  The program is sponsored by the FDL Artists’ Association.  Free.  Registration required.  Register via the library’s calendar at www.FDLPL.org, or call 929-7080, ext. 127.

 

Book Discussion: Living a Country Year   Tuesday, March 10, Salem United Methodist Church, 120 Sheboygan Street, 12:10 pm

 

This program is part of the popular Books Between Bites series.  Bring your own sack lunch, coffee and soda will be available.  The discussion leaders for Living a Country Year are Susan Ringer, FDLPL librarian, and Kay Conrad, retired FDLPL librarian.  Free.  No registration.

 

Altered Art: Trash to Treasure    Saturday, March 14, 1:00-3:00 PM, McLane Meeting Room, FDLPL

 

Young adults in grades 6-12 are invited to create decorative artworks from recyclables such as old CDs and books.   The movie, Hoot, will also be shown.  Teens may also bring their old books, movies, and CDs to swap with others.  Free.  Snacks provided.  No registration.

 

Bread making 101   Monday, March 16, 6:00 – 8:00 PM, Moraine Park Technical College, FDL, Room to be announced.

 

For all you BREAD lovers!  Sampling, tasting, and understanding bread types, styles, and textures will be part of this exciting culinary event.  The program will be presented by Thomas Endejan, Culinary Arts Instructor, MPTC.  Free.  Registration required.  Register online via the library’s calendar: www.FDLPL.org; or call 929-7080, ext. 141.

 

Book Discussion: The Land Remembers: a Story of a Farm and its People by Ben Logan

Wednesday, March 18, 6:30 PM, Mid-States Training Room, FDLPL

 

This program is part of the Friends of the FDLPL Hooked on Books discussion series.  The Land Remembers is an excellent companion book for Living a Country Year.  Earl Jewett, Friend of the Library and retired English Teacher, will lead the book discussion.  To reserve a copy of the book and to register call 929-7080; or register online at www.FDLPL.org.  Free.  Refreshments.

 

Chili Supper and Presentation by Jerry Apps, Author of Living a Country Year

Thursday, March 19, UW-FDL Commons and Prairie Theater

Dinner at 6:00 PM – Tickets $10 in advance available at FDLPL; $12 at the door

Dinner Entertainment provided by local guitarist, Daryl Rogers

Jerry Apps Program – 7:00 PM, Free, No Ticket Required.

 

Enjoy a down-home country dinner featuring recipes from the book, Living a Country Year.  Daryl Rogers, local guitarist will provide musical entertainment during dinner.

Following dinner at 7 pm, Jerry Apps, author of Living a Country Year, will talk about the good old days and his writings.  There will also be a book signing following the program.  There is no charge to attend the author program.  Tickets for dinner may be purchased in advance for $10 at the FDLPL.  Tickets are $12 at the door.  This program is sponsored by the Friends of the FDL Public Library, Linstrom’s Catering, and UW-FDL.

 

Gardening for Kids   Saturday, March 21, 1:00 – 2:00 PM, McLane Meeting Room, FDLPL

 

Children ages 5 – 8 are invited to learn about the fun of gardening.  Everyone will also decorate a flower pot and plant a flower seed.  This program is sponsored by the Green Thumb Garden Club of Fond du Lac.  Free.  Registration is required.  To register call 92907080, ext. 127; or register online at www.FDLPL.org.

 

Going to School in Years Gone By    Sunday, March 22, 1:30-2:15 PM, McLane Meeting Room, FDLPL

 

Families and children of all ages will learn what it was like to attend a school of the past.  Mary Ann Salter, retired teacher and member of the Education Committee, Fond du Lac Historical Society, will be bringing items from the old school house on the Galloway House grounds.  Free.  No registration required.

 

Beekeeping 101     Thursday, March 26, 6:00 PM, McLane Meeting Room, FDLPL

 

This program will provide the basic facts about honey bees and the fundamentals of beekeeping.

Earl Jewett has been passionately working with bees for many years and will also talk about the ecological importance of honey bees.  Free.  No registration required.

 

The Art of Weaving   Saturday, March 28, 10:00 AM, McLane Meeting Room, FDLPL

 

Learn all about spinning and weaving from Sara von Tresckow, owner of the Woolgatherers Ltd. LCC, located in Downtown Fond du Lac.  Sara has nearly 30 years experience as a weaver and spinner.  Free.  No registration required.

 

Tracing the Genealogy of Your Home   Monday, March 30, 6:00 PM, McLane Meeting Room, FDLPL

 

Have you ever wondered about the history of your home?  When was it built?  Who owned it?  What happened to the people who lived there?  Learning about your home or property can be a fascinating and fulfilling project.  FDLPL librarians will tell you everything you need to know to get started with your research.  Free.  No registration required.

 

About the Author

 

Jerry Apps was born and raised on a dairy farm near Wild Rose, Wisconsin.  He is an award-winning author of many books, mainly on rural life.  Apps started his career as a county extension agent. He then began teaching at the University of Wisconsin where he currently is a professor emeritus of agriculture.  His latest book is Old Farm: a History.  He and his wife, Ruth, divide their time between their home in Madison and their farm near Wild Rose.  For more information check the author’s website www.jerryapps.com.

 

 

 

Discussion Questions

 

Jerry Apps writes about growing up on a farm in the 1940’s.  Were these really the “good old days”?  What are the “good old days” for you?  Sometimes even though times are tough we look back on those times with nostalgia.  Why is that?

 

What did you learn about life on a Wisconsin farm in the 1940’s?  Did some things surprise you?  Did some things sound like fun?

 

Throughout the book there are references to observing nature.  For example, sighting geese in March or looking at daisies in July.  Are you more interested in observing nature now?  How would you go about it?  Putting up a birdfeeder?  Checking out field guides to native plants and animals?

 

There are also many references to respect for the land and for the environment.  Has this prompted you to do anything differently?

 

Discuss the author’s bout with polio and the fear it generated.  Most children these days are vaccinated against polio, but are there things that are just as scary now?

 

Discuss some of the author’s “Thoughts”:

 

     Listen for the silence of winter, when the snow buries the land and the cold tightens its grip, turning breath into clouds and thickening the ice on the lakes.  There is great beauty in silence, something that we have little of these days. (January)

 

     Happiness comes from doing interesting and worthwhile things.  Most of us find happiness when we are not looking for it. (March)

 

     On a rainy day, I watch raindrops create little circles on the pond.  The circles quickly expand, run into each other, disappear, and are immediately replace by others.  I think about how our lives are like that.  We make a little splash; it disappears and is replaced by someone else’s splash.  The splashes come and go, but the surface of the pond ultimately changes little. (June)

 

     We are all tied to the natural world, to the changing of the seasons, to the darkness of night and the brightness of day, to the tiny blue asters that struggle on a sandy hillside, to the bald eagle that soars overhead. (September)

 

     Books do not scold when you blunder, laugh when you are ignorant, or hide when you seek them.  (December)

 

Do you have other favorite “Thoughts’?

 

Have you tried any of the recipes in the book?

 

Also by Jerry Apps

 

Back Porch (Audio-book on CD)

 

Barns of Wisconsin (631.22 Ap65)

 

Breweries of Wisconsin (338.7663 Ap65)

 

Cabin in the Country (917.75 Ap6c)

 

Casper Jaggi: Master Swiss Cheese Maker (Children’s 637.3 J185ya)

 

Cheese: the Making of a Wisconsin Tradition (641.373 Ap65)

 

Country Ways and Country Days (630.9775 Ap65c)

 

Eat Rutabagas (Children’s Picture Book)

 

Every Farm Tells a Story: a Tale of Family Farm Values (630.9775 Ap65)

 

Humor from the Country

 

In a Pickle (Fiction)

 

The Land Still Lives (917.75 Ap6)

 

Mastering the Teaching of Adults (374 Ap65)

 

Mills of Wisconsin (664.72 Ap65)

 

Old Farm (630.9775 Ap65o)

 

One-room Country Schools: History and Recollections from Wisconsin (370.1934 Ap65)

 

Ringlingville USA (791.3 R474ya)

 

Skiing into Wisconsin: a Celebration of Winter: Southern Wisconsin X-country Ski Guide (796.93 Ap64)

 

Stormy (Children’s Picture Book)

 

Teaching from the Heart (374.1 Ap65)

 

Tents, Tigers, and the Ringling Brothers (791.3092 R474ya)

 

Travels of Increase Joseph: a Historical Novel about a Pioneer Preacher (Fiction)

 

When Chores Were Done (977.5 Ap65)

 

Selective List of Related Reading

 

 

Apple Betty and Sloppy Joe: Stirring Up the Past with Family Recipes and Stories.  (641.5977 Ap52)  The Sanvidge sisters use recipes to tell about growing up in Oshkosh in the 1950’s.

 

Down in the Valleys: Wisconsin Country Lore and Humor by Robert Gard.  (917.775 G16d)  Nostalgic look at Wisconsin through words and pictures.  The Fond du Lac Library owns other books by Gard that also may be of interest.

 

Driftless by David Rhodes.  (Fiction)  A new novel about the lives and struggles of people who live in a Wisconsin small town.

 

Farm Kid by Justin Isherwood.  (630.1 Is3f)  Humorous account of the author’s childhood in the 1950’s on a farm near Plover, Wisconsin.  The Fond du Lac Library owns other books by Isherwood that also may be of interest.

 

Future of Farming and Rural Life in Wisconsin (338.1 F989)  Analysis of agriculture’s past and future.

 

Give Me a Home Where the Dairy Cows Roam by LeAnn Ralph.  (977.5 R139g)  Amusing tales of growing up on a Wisconsin dairy farm in the 1960’s.  The Fond du Lac Library owns other books by Ralph that also may be of interest.

 

The Land, Always the Land by Mel Ellis (630.9775 EL59)  Month-by-month observations of the natural world in Wisconsin.  The Fond du Lac Library owns other books by Ellis that also may be of interest.

 

The Land Remembers by Ben Logan (917.757 L82)  Autobiographical account of the author’s family farm in the 1930’s.  This book will be featured at the Friends of the Fond du Lac Library “Hooked on Books” discussion series on Wednesday, March 18.

 

Renewing the Countryside: Wisconsin edited by Jerry Hembd.  (307.14 R293)  Examples of people who are using sustainable agriculture and creative ideas to revitalize the rural economy.

 

 

Rural Renaissance by John Ivanko and Lisa Kivirist.  (630.9775 Iv1)  Practical advice for those interested in small sustainable agriculture from authors who have a farmstead in southern Wisconsin.

 

Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold (508.73 L55s)  Month-by-month ruminations on the natural environment and respect for the land in Wisconsin.  A classic book by a renowned conservationist.

 

For more titles, check the Fond du Lac Library’s catalog using subjects such as “Wisconsin,”  “Rural families,” “Farm life,” and “Country life.”  Or, ask one of the Library’s friendly librarians!  Visit:  32 Sheboygan Street.  Email: reference@fdlpl.org.  Phone: 920-929-7080 option 6. 

 

Rural Related Organizations

 

4-H

227 Admin/Extension Bldg.

 400 University Sr.

929-3172

www.fdl4h.org

 

Audubon Society